The present invention deals with a damper assembly for sealing a vertical fireplace exhaust.
Conventional fireplace construction utilizes a damper in the dwelling place adjacent the fire box and permits the vertical duct or chimney outlet to remain open to the atmosphere. It would be desirable to provide a damper assembly which can be used in addition to or in place of present construction and which can be mounted adjacent the vertical duct outlet. Such an assembly would result in fuel savings as by further insulating the fire box, should be versatile to adapt same for a variety of functions and should be operable either manually or automatically from within the dwelling place.
With the increase in the cost of fuel, particularly petroleum-based fuel, as well as the uncertainty of its uninterrupted availability from foreign sources, there is increasing concern for obtaining the maximum possible efficiency from residential heating systems. In the past, approximately 25% of the heat produced when the furnace was running escaped up the chimney rather than being transferred to the house. In addition, when the furnace is turned off, drafts continue to pull warm air up the chimney and out of the house. This loss due to chimney draft while the furnace is off accounts for an additional loss of the heat produced.
Most fireplaces are constructed with a manually controlled damper located at the top of the firebox. Such dampers tend to warp with age and the sealing edge of the damper and corresponding flue surfaces become encrusted with varying thicknesses of deposits making a positive seal impossible. In addition, the damper actuator is inconveniently located and may be inadvertently left open for long periods of time.
It would be desirable to develop an improved damper assembly which minimizes these problems.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved damper assembly for sealing a vertical fireplace exhaust.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved damper assembly as aforesaid which is easy to use, can readily be added to existing vertical fireplace exhausts, is safe, efficient, versatile and easy to operate.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will appear hereinbelow.